In 1159 King Henry II
granted the estate to Herbert
Ruffus. By 1177 Herbert and his
son William had died, and
William’s young son, also named
William inherited the estate,
which was managed by the sheriff
until he came of age.

In 1197-8 William took
over the running of the
estate, and in 1227 Henry II
confirmed his grant of the
manor to him. In 1235 he was
described as a knight. He
died in 1247 and the estate
was divided between his
daughters Emecina and
Margery.

By 1247 Emecina had married
Geoffrey de Bakepuse, who had
died by 1262 when she married
William de Morteyn. Around 1275
her son Sir William de Morteyn
took over the running of her
share of the manor. He died in
1283 and was succeeded by his
nephew Roger de Morteyn who had
been knighted by 1298. He
mortgaged his share of the manor
to John, Lord Somery, in 1311.
At the beginning of 1314 he
conveyed his share of the manor
to Ralph, Lord Basset of
Drayton, who also acquired
Margery’s share in 1338.

In 1247 Margery was under
age and was put into the
guardianship of her
brother-in-law Geoffrey. She
married Richard de Alazun, but
about 8 years later was abducted
by John de Lay. Richard fled and
left Walsall. In the early 1280s
Margery married John Paynel who
was killed at Walsall in 1298.
Margery was arrested and accused
of his murder. She was
eventually acquitted in 1302.
Margery died in 1302 or 1303 and
was succeeded by her son Thomas,
who had been knighted by 1304.
In 1335 the king released Thomas
for life from his rent for his
share of the estate. In 1338 he
gave his share of the estate to
Ralph, Lord Basset.

Ralph, Lord Basset only
controlled the whole estate for
five years. He died in 1343 and
the estate was passed on to his
young son, called Ralph, after
his father. Ralph junior married
Joan, the daughter of Thomas de
Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, who
managed the estate until 1355
when Ralph came of age. Ralph
junior died in 1390 and the
estate was passed on to his
brother-in-law Thomas de
Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. In
1397 the earl's estates were
confiscated and Walsall Manor
came into the possession of John
Beaufort, marquis of Dorset who
held the estate until May 1399,
when Warwick regained ownership.
Warwick died in 1401and the
manor remained in the hands of
the Warwick family until the
death of Anne, countess of
Warwick in 1492.

The manor returned to the
king, who granted it to his son
Henry, duke of Richmond in 1525.
After Henry’s death in 1536 it
was passed on to Sir John
Dudley, later the Earl of
Warwick and duke of
Northumberland. He was found
guilty of high treason and
executed in 1553, after which
Walsall returned to the crown. In 1557
the manor was sold to Richard
Wilbraham of Woodhey in Faddiley,
Cheshire.

Richard
died in 1558 and was succeeded
by his son Thomas, who died in
1610. Walsall was then passed on
to his son Sir Richard, who
became a baronet in 1621. He
died in 1643 and was succeeded
by his son Thomas, who died in
1660. Thomas’s son, also named
Thomas inherited the estate. He
died in 1692 and the estate was
passed on to his daughter Mary,
wife of Richard Newport, later
Earl of Bradford. When Mary died
in 1737 the estate was left to
her son Thomas, Earl of
Bradford. He died in 1762 and
the estate was passed on to his
sister, Diana, countess of Mountrath. She died in 1766 and
left Walsall to her son Charles,
Earl of Mountrath.

On his death in 1802 it
passed to his cousin Orlando
Bridgeman, Baron Bradford, later
Earl of Bradford. The manor
remained in the Bradford
family’s hands until 1945 when
only the freehold ground-rents
remained, most of which had been
sold by the 1970s.

Notes:

Herbert Ruffus was a knight of Robert of Stafford, who
also had an estate in Warwickshire, possibly the Manor
of Caldecote, which remained with the Ruffus family for
sometime. Ruffus meaning red, was also referred to as le
Rous.

Herbert had two brothers, William, Chamberlain to
King Henry II, and Richard, Chamberlain to Henry, Duke
of Saxony.

Margery Ruffus was a very generous lady who gave many
gifts to the church, and purchased serfs for 15 or 20
shillings, and made them free men. She was constantly
involved in legal proceedings and quarrels with her
relations and tenants, and sensitive to her rights and
privileges.

Emecina Ruffus married Geoffrey de Bakepuse from the
Derbyshire family who owned the Manor of Barton Blount.
In 1263 her second husband, William de Morteyn, was
granted the right to hunt foxes and cubs with dogs in
the royal forests in Staffordshire.

The Warwick family had other local possessions
including Great Barr, Perry Barr, Sutton Chase, Sutton
Town, and Shenstone.